Goa can import beef from Karnataka: Parrikar

Panaji, July 18 (IANS) To avoid beef shortage in Goa, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said the BJP-led government has kept open its option of importing it from Karnataka.

Parrikar told the Goa assembly: “We have not closed the option to stop getting meat from Belgaum (in Karnataka) to ensure that there is no shortage.

“I can assure you that inspection of beef from the neighbouring state will be done by a proper and authorised medical doctor, and not others,” he said in response to a question by BJP MLA Nilesh Cabral.

Parrikar also said that around 2,000 kg of beef was slaughtered daily at the state’s only legal abattoir, the Goa Meat Complex, at Ponda, around 40 km from here.

“The rest (of the beef demand) is met by Karnataka,” Parrikar said. “The government does not have any intention to restrict bringing animals for slaughter at the Goa Meat Complex from the neighbouring state.”

Beef is commonly consumed in the state’s tourism belt as well as by Goa’s minorities, which account for more than 30 per cent of the state’s population.